Episode Summary
The hospital is abuzz with rumors of ghostly high-heeled footsteps at night. Guan Xu struggles with his father's debts, contemplating leaving his job to protect Zhao Dongcheng and the hospital. Ai Jing returns from maternity leave, leading to an awkward welcome dinner where the Head Director's biases are challenged by Yu Shi. Meanwhile, Xiao Xia bravely decides on surgery for Teacher Shi against her family's wishes. Guan Xu learns a bit about Zhao Dongcheng's family history and gets a surprising reprieve from his father's creditor. Finally, after Ai Jing makes a work error, Yu Shi schools Guan Xu on the importance of not treating female colleagues differently, emphasizing workplace equality.
Spoiler Alert
Episode 4 Recap: Heels, Debts, and Dinner Drama
The episode kicked off with some seriously spooky vibes at the hospital. Apparently, the distinct click-clack of high heels has been echoing through the halls at night. Zhang Jun was on duty, heard it himself, but kinda brushed it off. Of course, you know how hospital gossip goes – pretty soon, everyone was whispering about it, and things got blown way out of proportion. The Head Director and Director Cheng had to step in and tell everyone to knock off the rumor-mongering. Chill, people, it's probably just a late-night snack run!
Meanwhile, Guan Xu has been acting a bit off, and Zhao Dongcheng, bless his observant heart, has noticed something's up, though he doesn't know the full story. Here's the tea: Guan Xu's dad, Guan Shan, skipped town with a bunch of money, and now one of the creditors, an "Uncle Zhang," has tracked down Guan Xu looking for repayment. Poor Guan Xu is in a tight spot – he doesn't have the cash, and honestly, he has no clue where his deadbeat dad even is. This isn't new for him; he actually lost his previous job because of debt collectors hounding him. So, to avoid dragging Zhao Dongcheng into his mess and to protect the community hospital's reputation, Guan Xu has pretty much decided to pack his bags and leave.
On a lighter, or perhaps more awkward, note, Ai Jing from the Chronic Disease department is back from her maternity leave! To celebrate her return and to make Guan Xu feel welcome (since he's been on board for a bit), the Head Director decided to treat everyone to dinner, his treat. Now, this Director... let's just say he has some old-school views. He's made it pretty clear he prefers hiring male doctors and was practically fawning over Guan Xu all evening. This, understandably, didn't sit well with the other female doctors. Thankfully, Zhao Dongcheng was there, smooth as ever, to diffuse the tension. The Director then had the audacity to tell Yu Shi that she should smile more and "learn to be a bit more charming" (read: act cute). Yu Shi, being the queen she is, wasn't having any of it. She proceeded to order a ton of super expensive dishes, effectively shutting him up, and then just bounced after dinner without so much as a goodbye. You go, girl!
Over in another storyline, Teacher Shi's health is a concern, and the doctors are recommending surgery. Xiao Xia is feeling the weight of this decision, especially since she can't get a straight answer from her mom, who just tells her to ask her uncles. When Xiao Xia brought it up in the family group chat, her uncles and aunts basically attacked her, arguing that at his age, conservative treatment is better. Classic case of them not wanting to take any responsibility but being more than happy to criticize from the sidelines (or, you know, their keyboards). Xiao Xia, completely over their drama, decided to go ahead with the surgery. She announced her decision in the group chat and then promptly left, telling them if they had issues, they could come talk to her face-to-face. Mic drop.
Back with Guan Xu, he overheard Zhao Dongcheng on the phone with his grandmother. Grandma was laying it on thick, saying that Zhao Dongcheng's mom was the one who had an affair first, and that's why she'll never forgive her. Zhao Dongcheng tried to comfort his grandma and even mentioned wanting to bring Guan Xu to meet her, but she hung up. Guan Xu, to his credit, didn't pry into the painful details, choosing to trust his own mother's side of things. Later, Guan Xu contacted Uncle Zhang (the creditor) and made it clear he wasn't going to ask Zhao Dongcheng for money, as this whole mess had nothing to do with him. Surprisingly, Uncle Zhang changed his tune, saying he'd actually found Guan Shan and wouldn't be bothering Guan Xu anymore. Guan Xu was left feeling pretty weird about that sudden turnaround – and honestly, so are we!
Finally, with Ai Jing back at work, Guan Xu, probably trying to be helpful, kept offering to take on some of her tasks. However, this just made Ai Jing uncomfortable, and she turned him down every time. Then, Ai Jing made a mistake at work. Luckily, Yu Shi caught it, fixed it, and even went to Director Cheng to explain. But Director Cheng was firm: hospital rules are rules, and Ai Jing would have to write a self-criticism report and would lose her bonus. Seeing this, Guan Xu again offered to help Ai Jing with her workload. This time, Yu Shi pulled him aside. She explained that they weren't giving Ai Jing special treatment, or treating her differently, because women in the workplace shouldn't be singled out, for better or worse. She urged Guan Xu to respect women and their capabilities. It was a learning moment, and Guan Xu seemed to get it.
